Athens, Beirut, Eindhoven, Fukuoka, Lagos

Philippe Malouin

Athens is a city where people are allowed to flourish no matter where they come from. It’s a city that leaves enough space to enjoy a spur-of-the-moment social life - from an unpretentious, vibrant art scene to a dynamic restaurant culture that is constantly reinventing itself. Lexi Shu: Even though we have been to the Greek islands many times over the past seven years, our culinary adventures in Athens told a deeper story about human connection and cultural exchange. Cooking can be a letter of love for a culture, and we really felt this coming through in the restaurants - from the way the menus were meticulously explained to us by the staff at I Kriti to the love and care put into the presentation of dishes at Seychelles (which always tastes as good as it looks). In the wise words of Chengdu chef Lan Guijun: “Today’s invention is tomorrow’s tradition”, and the chefs in Athens take a curious approach towards different cultures, which will hopefully ensure that the food scene will continue to evolve in a sustainable and culturally mindful way. Philippe: I worked solidly for a month in Athens in a steel shop in the centre of town. If a tool or a different artisan was required everything was a short stroll away - whether I was searching for a lighting specialist to make custom made lampshades for the pieces I was working on, to an upholsterer who could make cushions for an armchair I fashioned out of salvaged steel plates. Everything could be sourced and done locally. The “culture of making” in Athens encourages creatives to go and meet people to collaborate with and it facilitates in-person conversations rather than text messages. This is all the more important at a time when the pandemic has resulted in many people feeling emotionally distant, fearful and isolated. My experiences of working in Athens gave me the in-person connectedness that many of us have been missing over the past 18 months. Compared to many other European cities, Athens gives young artists the opportunity to find affordable places to live and work, where they can develop their craft with less pressure. This makes Athens an attractive base for creatives and, though cities must evolve so they don’t become static, hopefully the city won’t change too quickly. As more people choose to relocate to Athens I hope this will happen in a sustainable way. An unmanageable influx would inevitably jack up prices, robbing Athens of this much valued incentive that makes the city so welcoming to emerging artists and designers. This happened in East London where rents became astronomical and untenable for many young creatives. I hope that the Athens that I know and love will continue to thrive in a way which welcomes diversity and new perspectives, and does not shut out young creatives looking for an inspiring place they can call home.

Postcard from...

ATHENS

Postcard from... BEIRUT

Nada Debs

Reflections on my love for the city of Beirut. There’s something about Beirut that we cannot put into words. It’s a feeling. It has an energy that draws people to it. It’s so hard to describe. It’s like an addiction.

I grew up in Japan, a culture completely the opposite to Lebanon in every way possible. I personally didn’t know my Arab culture so well until I arrived in Lebanon 21 years ago. The Japanese are reserved and understated, whereas the Lebanese are emotional and dramatic. The Japanese are introverts, in Lebanon they are extroverts. Japan is quiet, Lebanon is noisy. These contrasting traits also influence art and design; whereas in Japan art and design is understated, in Lebanon there is a larger-than-life approach. Having this duality confused me when I moved here but it has shown me how one can see the same thing from different angles and taught me to always seek the right balance between two opposing forces. Beirut gave me the opportunity to express my quiet self. It has given me the chance to grow and to experiment and to face challenges. How can one stay true to oneself in an environment that is so loud and extravagant? This is where I feel I have found my own design philosophy—that balance between opposites—which I apply on my products. Beirut is itself no stranger to controversy. You have the beautiful sea but then you have the garbage problem. You have the high luxury lifestyle but you also have the poor struggling refugees. There is the rich, there is the poor, there is beauty, there is ugliness. There is kindness and generosity and there is anger and bitterness. All in one place. It’s like a microcosm of the world. Everything happens in Beirut and that rawness is so human.

What draws me to Beirut is its authentic humanity. It is in your face on a daily basis. And that’s why it is hard to leave such a place. As a designer who works with local craft, I’m fascinated by the contrast of everything just as I was personally faced with the contrast of cultures. It’s what drives me constantly to challenge myself. Despite the political and economic problems we have, we feel we can still make a difference here. Working with my craftsmen has taught me that craft is an extension of who we are. We cannot be removed from it. It is our identity. And hence, my journey in Lebanon continues. Even with the temptation of a more stable life elsewhere, something keeps me here. We strive to be craft custodians, using craft as a means to express our identity in a contemporary way—something we like to call Neo-Arabian. And we are proud to show the world what we can do, despite being one of the smallest countries in the world. Here in Lebanon, I believe form does not necessarily follow function; it follows culture. And we strive to express this soul through our objects. Come visit and you’ll understand what I am talking about.

Kiki and Joost

We LOVE Eindhoven.

There is a well known Philips campaign that says: ‘Let’s make things better’. It’s the perfect slogan for Eindhoven, a city that wants to make things better and does so through design, creativity, innovation and optimism. There is another slogan that is often used around here: ‘Eindhoven de gekste…!’ meaning ‘Eindhoven the craziest…!’ It unveils the spirit of the city: a fun place with a strong community that likes to enjoy life. Joost often says: ‘Eindhoven is so ugly, you have to work very hard to make it nice.’ That doesn’t seem to do justice to our city but in a way it does explain the creative spirit and energy that you feel when you live here. There are industrial buildings that are huge spaces totally devoted to creativity and to making. High tech goes hand in hand with low tech. This is a city where creatives work hard in any field of their choice because this is a city of choice. And if you have chosen to live in Eindhoven, the reason is because you want to design. There’s a very big design community here with many creatives. From established designers to young students, everyone is willing to share work and experiences; Piet Hein Eek, RENS, Ontwerpduo, Kazerne, Dutch Invertuals, Vij5, Foundation We Are, Yksi, MU Art House, Sectie-C, Van Abbemuseum. These are just a few out of the hundreds of creative studios and initiatives. It’s a very collective environment.

We are surrounded by a beautiful natural environment of woods, lakes and heather

fields. You can forage mushrooms in the forest or have a picnic in the fields. At the same time Eindhoven has this rawness and an authentic grittiness that pushes you to create - you have space to do it and you want to make things better. We can’t say for sure but perhaps living in a city with a past rooted in centuries of architecture and design can weigh on a creative mind.

We built our own workspace two years ago. We used solid wood solar panels and sustainable solutions to make it energy neutral; we feel it’s a beautiful building and a good example for the creative community. This spring we’ll start building an additional exhibition space in our courtyard. We want to showcase our work, but also work closely with our creative community, hosting lectures, pop up ideas, enjoying ourselves and, why not, selling our products. It’s a continuous process. At the moment we are trying to convince our future neighbours to use their space as a hub for established midcareer designers so they can own a space to work. We really want to create environments where there is an active synergy between the young generation, young talent and the knowledge and know-how of the more established names. Fostering collaboration is a very important aspect for us. We believe this is the future for the makers of today and tomorrow - not having to rely on developers, but using the power of a community to be your own creative project developer. So yes we LOVE living in Eindhoven.

Postcard from... EINDHOVEN

Postcard from... FUKUOKA

Koichi Futatsumata

Fukuoka is my "home" for design activities and a place to replenish my energy. The design work is usually done in my studio located in the centre of the prefecture, but I find that the human sensibility and energy underlying the manufacturing process is nurtured through interaction with areas throughout the prefecture. What these all have in common is a shared aim to create new things and values by using the materials available in each place. Located in the Itoshima area is "Mataichi no Shio" where salt is produced using traditional methods. Nearby, oyster houses line the streets and every winter you can enjoy the blessings of the sea to the fullest. It goes without saying that when you come into contact with these local traditions you feel a sense of mental and physical satisfaction. Originally, Fukuoka was a harbour town and because of this different cultures assimilated into the city. It has a history of merchant ways and a tolerance for new things. This cross cultural influence can be seen in the variety of original shops in the centre of Fukuoka. Light Years is a store with a wonderful collection of quilts and special finds from India, Pakistan and Morocco. The owner drives around the area to purchase unusual things and the result is an impressive curation presented in the owner's unique aesthetic sense. At the moment there are plans to create a strong cultural movement by fusing historical sites with new ones. The 1,000-year-old Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine has long been associated with arts and culture such as kabuki and calligraphy. This heritage has informed the recently launched Keidai Art Museum. The shrine has inspired artists from Japan and abroad and this historic wooden building hosts food stalls, crafts and fashion in collaborative exhibitions called "Thought”. Although the routes of the shrine are in the past it has always been a centre for the transmission of new ideas and cultures.

The government has ambitions for Fukuoka to function as a hub city for Asia and has set a target for new developments, pulling down older buildings in the process. Designed by the architect Shohei Shigematsu of OMA, the Tenjin Business Centre was completed this fall, giving birth to a sophisticated new building in the centre of Fukuoka. A month earlier, the Arata Isozaki designed NishiNippon City Bank Head Office was demolished after standing in the Hakata district for 50 years. Urban metabolism is progressing at a rapid pace. I am a little sceptical about the type of city that will emerge from this redevelopment. The degree to which this city will be able to function as an attractive one in the future will depend on how aware we are of Fukuoka's origins, history, culture and the diverse creativity of its residents. Fukuoka is a city to be watched.

Tosin Oshinowo

Lagos is a hot, bright spot of creative energy. Born of a cross-section of influences from across Africa and worldwide, it is a dynamic, vibrant, global city with a community built for innovation and bursting with a desire to create and share its unique culture with the world. Lagos has always been an active centre for commerce and cultural exchange: a melting pot of different peoples. The city has a complex set of indigenous and semiindigenous cultural influences, which is evident in the design and psychology of the city. There is a local indigenous Yoruba culture, British colonial influence, influence of the returnees (formerly enslaved people from Brazil) and returning communities from Freetown in Sierra Leone who were rescued from illegal slave trading ships. The 80s and 90s had a significant impact on the design language in the city. In this period we experienced a series of military dictatorships; with these came many restrictions, all with the intent of encouraging local economic growth. These policies created what many have considered ‘the lost decade’ with significant stifled development in the country with a lasting effect. This period dramatically influenced many of the present-day designers. The foundational experience of these restrictions is what has pushed us to be so innovative. For example, growing up in Nigeria in the 80s, we had limited exposure to international television. We saw toys we knew we would never have the opportunity to own. So then - what was the next best thing? How could we innovate to imitate? This built Nigeria as it is today; it is where we learned to create the things we wanted from what we knew we could not have - but had seen.

The burst of creativity that is happening in Lagos today began around 2000, which coincides with the end of military rule. We are the generation of Nigerians who had access to foreign education and embraced the historic fusion of cultures that have always defined Lagos because it was our personal experience. So the design coming out of Lagos today is authentic, unique and very diverse in style. We are drawing on a varied set of influences and creating in a pace of limited materials and resources - forcing innovation. Lagos is defined by a fusion of creativity and cultural influences across the creative industries - from film, music, fashion, literature, architecture, photography, visual arts and sculpture. There is so much intense creativity at this moment in time. And though this movement began as pockets of energy and attention in different industries, you can see it now, collectively, as a cohesive burst - and you can feel it when you are here. There are people making waves across cultural industries internationally, and though Lagos is an enormous city, it is a pretty small, intimate community. Everyone is connected, with cross-inspiration from conversations in restaurants, to pop-ups and celebrations. If nothing else, Lagos is a city of people who love to come together, who love to celebrate, who love to embrace our complexity and similarities. I’m glad that the world is getting to see this a bit more and join in the celebration.

Postcard from... LAGOS